Moskovich clamps for interlaminar cervical fixation

ABSTRACT

A set of interlaminar clamps of specific and improved shapes provides a better fit to clamp together any two adjacent cervical laminae in the range from C1 to C7. These clamps are called Moskovich clamps, and their distinctive shapes are called Moskovich Curves. A method is also presented to manufacture similar cervical clamps for improved fit to clamp together any two adjacent cervical laminae throughout the entire back. This method is called the Moskovich Method. Morphometric data was taken for a large number of C1 through C7 laminae. Average shapes were then computed from this data for the C1 through C7 laminae. A small number of clamp shapes were then calculated that would fit these average cervical shapes. It was found that only a small number of clamp shapes were needed for clamps for the C1 through C7 range, and that these clamp shapes were different from what was available on the market in the prior art clamps. This method can be used to calculate average cervical shapes for all the cervical laminae of the back. Also, the method can be used to calculate average body part shapes for any body part, and to make better fitting surgical implants to be attached to or placed in contact with that body part.

This is a divisional of application Ser. No. 08/195,478, filed Feb. 14,1994 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,320.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to the general field of orthopaedic surgicalequipment, surgical implants and medical prostheses. More specifically,the invention relates to the field of clamps for the fixation of bonesand bone grafts after surgery. Particularly, this invention relates toclamps for interlaminar cervical fixation after cervical surgery. Theinvention includes a new type of interlaminar cervical clamp, calledhere Moskovich clamps, and a method to manufacture such clamps.

BACKGROUND

A number of surgical techniques exist for posterior cervicalarthrodesis. Onlay bone grafting and posterior wiring techniques (withor without bone blocks) are currently the most important surgicaltechniques in this area. These techniques have been supplementedrecently by transfacet screw fixation and interlaminar clamparthrodesis. The interlaminar clamp technique for posterior arthrodesismay prove to be superior to wiring techniques and simpler to performthan screw fixation methods, but the interlaminar clamp techniquerequires some improvement.

Interlaminar clamp fixation of the cervical spine has been in clinicaluse for approximately the past decade. Use of interlaminar clampfixation has proven effective in achieving a satisfactory rate ofposterior cervical fusion. There is, however, an incidence on non-unionand loosening of the clamp fixation device.

The prior art interlaminar clamp is called a Halifax clamp, and isbasically a variation of the common C clamp. FIG. 19 shows two views ofa prior art Halifax clamp. The clamp has two opposing parts, eachapproximately in the shape of a "C", and made out of bent pieces of flatmetal bars. The upper C-shaped part 1 and the lower C-shaped part 2 arefastened together at one end by a screw 3, which screw 3 is screwed totightened the clamp. The current design of these prior art clamps issomewhat restricted in that there is a limited variety of clamp sizesand shapes available, which causes incidents of inaccurate fit of theclamps to the laminae. This poor fit problem may result in residualrotatory motion at the operated cervical segment, causing loosening ofthe clamp and possible disengagement of the clamp from the laminae.

The object of the present invention is to provide a set of new improvedinterlaminar cervical clamps that provide superior fit and hence do notloosen, and to provide a method to manufacture such clamps. Furthermore,it is an object of this invention to provide a general method ofmanufacturing better fitting surgical implants of all types.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a set of interlaminar clamps of specificand improved shapes to provide better fit to clamp together any twoadjacent cervical laminae in the range from C1 to C7. (C1 refers to thefirst cervical vertebra; C2 refers to the second cervical vertebra, andso forth to C7, which refers to the seventh cervical vertebra.) Theseclamps are called Moskovich clamps, and their distinctive shapes arecalled Moskovich Curves (sometimes referred to herein as M curves). Amethod is also presented to manufacture similar cervical clamps forimproved fit to clamp together any two adjacent cervical laminaethroughout the entire back. This method is called the Moskovich Method.

Morphometric data was taken for a large number of C1 through C7 laminae.Average shapes were then computed from this data for the C1 through C7laminae. A small number of clamp shapes were then calculated that wouldfit these average cervical shapes. It was found that only a small numberof clamp shapes were needed for clamps for the C1 through C7 range, andthat these clamp shapes were different from what was available on themarket in the prior art clamps. This method can be used to calculateaverage perimeter shapes for all the laminae of the back, and to makebetter fitting clamps for all the laminae of the back. Also, the methodcan be used to calculate average body part shapes for any body part, andto make better fitting surgical implants to be attached to or placed incontact with that body part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS AND CHARTS

Chart 1 shows the X and Y Cartesian coordinates in millimeters of the C1Top M Curve.

Chart 2 shows the X and Y Cartesian coordinates in millimeters of the C2Bottom M Curve.

Chart 3 shows the X and Y Cartesian coordinates in millimeters of theC2-7 Top A M Curve.

Chart 4 shows the X and Y Cartesian coordinates in millimeters of theC2-7 Top B M Curve.

Chart 5 shows the X and Y Cartesian coordinates in millimeters of theC3-5 Bottom M Curve.

Chart 6 shows the X and Y Cartesian coordinates in millimeters of theC6-7 Bottom M Curve.

FIG. 1 shows the shape of the bottom of a prior art Halifax clamp.

FIG. 2 shows the shape of the top of a prior art Halifax clamp.

FIG. 3 shows the unsmoothed plot of the C1 Top M Curve.

FIG. 4 shows the unsmoothed plot of the C2-7 Top A M Curve.

FIG. 5 shows the unsmoothed plot of the C2-7 Top B M Curve.

FIG. 6 shows the unsmoothed plot of the C2 Bottom M Curve.

FIG. 7 shows the unsmoothed plot of the C3-5 Bottom M Curve.

FIG. 8 shows the unsmoothed plot of the C6-7 Bottom M Curve.

FIG. 9 compares the top of the prior art Halifax clamp and the C2-7 TopA M Curve, which is substantially different.

FIGS. 10A and 10B compare the two parts of the prior art Halifax clampand the C2 Bottom M Curve, which is substantially different.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are the same as FIG. 10, except that the M Curve ismore coarsely digitized.

FIGS. 12A-12H show the information in FIGS. 1 through 8 together forease of comparison.

FIG. 13 shows the smoothed C1 Top M Curve.

FIG. 14 shows the smoothed C2 Bottom M Curve.

FIG. 15 shows the smoothed C2-7 Top A M Curve.

FIG. 16 shows the smoothed C2-7 Top B M Curve.

FIG. 17 shows the smoothed C3-5 Bottom M Curve.

FIG. 18 shows the smoothed C6-7 Bottom M Curve.

FIGS. 19A and 19B show two views of a prior art Halifax interlaminarcervical clamp.

FIGS. 20A and 20B show the radially grooved footplate of the Moskovichclamp, and the optional spacing sleeve in one of various heights "h" ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 shows the spacing sleeve in position in the assembledinterlaminar clamp of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The inventor undertook a study to provide morphometric data of theposterior elements of the cervical vertebra, in order to betterappreciate the requirements for surgical implant clamp design in thisarea. Direct templating of human cervical laminae and computerizedmorphological analysis was undertaken to obtain this data. This methodresulted in the design and construction of the first Moskovich clamps.The method is called the Moskovich Method and is applicable to makeMoskovich clamps for all the laminae of the back.

Collect Specimen Vertebrae

A collection of contemporary osteological specimens from the AmericanMuseum of Natural History in New York was used for the study. Asindicated in Table 1 hereof, a total of 734 cervical vertebrae from 62individuals were analyzed, representing specimens of vertebraedistributed from the C1 vertebra to the C7 vertebra. All the individualsexcept two were males. The age of the individuals at death ranged from38 to 90, averaging 63 years old. The vertebrae were from one Eskimo,one Asian, nine Blacks and 51 Caucasians.

Measure the Shape of Each Specimen

Direct measurement of lamina morphology was performed using a verniercaliper. Templates were then made of the middle part of each hemilaminausing 1 mm diameter malleable wire (bilateral specimens were taken).Both ends of the wire were twisted together tightly, thus making a loopwith a congruent fit to the lamina. A cut was then made in the loop sothat the loop could be removed from the lamina without damaging thelamina. The loop was then repaired by laying the loop down on paper andfixing its position with scotch tape. The orientation of the loop,representing the circumferential or cross-sectional contour of thehemilamina, was carefully noted on the resulting wire-paper composite.

                  TABLE 1                                                         ______________________________________                                                      Number of                                                              Vertebra                                                                             Specimens                                                       ______________________________________                                               C1     102                                                                    C2     108                                                                    C3     108                                                                    C4     110                                                                    C5     110                                                                    C6     100                                                                    C7      96                                                             ______________________________________                                    

Digitize and Store the Shape of Each Specimen

The wire loops were photocopied and then optically scanned by an EpsonES-300C scanner at 300 dpi with 16 gray levels. The scanner was operatedby the ScanDo software program on the Macintosh personal computer, whichstored the images as TIFF files. The TIFF files were read in by theAdobe Photoshop program on the Macintosh, and the images were touched upusing Photoshop. The touching up comprised attaching the breaks in theloops and thresholding at a 50% gray level. The improved images wereuploaded to a mainframe computer.

On the mainframe computer, a boundary-following algorithm traced theinner edge of each loop. The curve generated thereby matched the curveof the inner edge of each loop, which in turn matched the curve of theouter surface of the laminae to which the loop was attached. This curvegenerated in the mainframe was represented by points in the loopbordering on the hole inside the loop, not points in the hole borderingon the loop. The edge of the curve was one pixel thick and had diagonaljumps across concave turns. The edge was represented as a list of X andY coordinates for successive pixels, going counterclockwise.

Major and minor axes were defined and computed for the curves based onthe following. It can be shown that if M is ##EQU1## the covariancematrix of the x and y values of the points in the figure, then theeigenvector of M corresponding to the larger eigenvalue is the directionof the greatest scattering, that is, the direction in which the pointshave the greatest variance. Hence, the eigenvector corresponding to thesmallest eigenvalue is the direction of least scattering, that is, thedirection in which the points have the least variance. Since thecovariance matrix is symmetric, these two vectors must be orthogonal,and therefore it is reasonable that the major and minor axes should liein the directions of the former and latter vectors respectively.

When the covariance matrix is computed for the x and y values, asdescribed, one may use the x and y values of the vertices of theboundary, the x and y values of the entire boundary (using lineintegrals), or the x and y values of the entire figure (using integralsover the figure). In the last case, integrals over the figure can bereplaced by line integrals by means of Green's theorem. The variances ofx and y over the N vertices, which are used in the first method, arerepresented as follows: ##EQU2##

In the last two methods, the line integrals can be computed exactlysince the boundary consists of line segments and the integrand is alwaysX^(n) Y^(m) for some n,m≧0. The loop is parameterized by x(t),y(t),t=[0,1], in the second and third methods of calculation. In the secondmethod, σ_(xx) =Arc length integral of (x(t)-X)² over the loop; σ_(yy)is similar, and; σ_(xy) =Arc length integral of (x(t)-X)² (Y(t)-Y) overthe loop. The third method calculates σ_(xx) as the integral of (x-X)²over the region enclosed by the loop, and calculates σ_(yy) and σ_(xy)similarly.

The disadvantages of the first method is that it requires that thevertices be distributed rather evenly along the boundary in order thatthey be representative of the figure as a whole, and it is easy toconstruct a figure and a corresponding list of vertices for which thealgorithm does poorly. However, in the case of the present preferredembodiment, the points were always very evenly distributed, and thisalgorithm requires the least computation of the three. The secondalgorithm requires the most computation because it needs to compute asquare root for each line segment in the boundary in order to calculatethe segment's length. However, in the case of the present preferredembodiment, every segment is exactly one unit long or exactly two unitslong, and the square root of two can be stored in advance. The thirdalgorithm requires that the curve not cross itself (althoughintersection without crossing is allowable). In the present preferredembodiment, none of the curves cross themselves. Note that the threemethods generally produce slightly different sets of eigenvectors. Thefirst method was used in the present invention in the preferredembodiment.

There are other possible definitions for the major and minor axes, somemore reasonable than others. The diameter of the figure, i.e., thelongest segment whose endpoints lie on the boundary of the figure, couldbe called the major axis. There may be an algorithm of order n, where nis the number of vertices needed to compute this major axis. However,this definition is unsuitable, because if the figure is a rectangle,then the major axis would be a diagonal of the rectangle according tothis definition, it is intuitively necessary for the major axis to runparallel to the longer sides of the rectangle. One could define theminor axis as a segment parallel to the direction along which the figureis shortest, i.e., the direction for which the width of the projectionof the figure onto a line in that direction is minimized. There may bean algorithm of order n for this as well. However, this definition isalso unsuitable, because in the case of a rhombus it would mean that theminor axis is parallel to one of the altitudes of the rhombus, whereasit is intuitively required that the minor axis be the shorter crossbarof the figure.

One could also define the length and width of the figure in a particulardirection, the length being the length of the projection of the figureonto a line in that direction, and the width being the length of theprojection onto a line perpendicular to the first, and then define themajor axis as a segment parallel to the direction for which length/widthis maximized. There should be an order-n algorithm for this as well.

An effort was made to determine the angle at which the bone actuallylies in the spine of a person standing erect, that is, the angle thatthe major axis makes with the vertical. This could not be done withgreat accuracy and it was later decided that it was unnecessary.Instead, it is merely necessary to know which end of the loop is higher,that is, which end of the loop would lie above the other if it werewrapped around the bone while the bone was still in the person and theperson was standing erect. The other end of the loop is said to belower.

Extract the Top and Bottom Parts From Each Specimen Shape

The "top" and "bottom" parts (called herein "fishheads", after theirgeneral shape) of each loop were extracted as follows. The loop wasrotated so that its major axis was vertical and the higher end of theloop was lying on the positive x-axis, the second sector lying in thefirst quadrant adjacent to the first sector, and so on. Each vertex inthe fishhead was identified by its polar coordinates, ρ and θ, and theinitial assumption was made that for any 0≦ψ≦2π, there is no more thanone point in the fishhead whose θ equals ψ, and therefore ρ can beconsidered a function of θ. An average value of ρ was determined foreach sector by integrating ρ² with respect to θ for all θ in the sector,dividing by the width of the sector (6 degrees), and taking the squareroot. If a "spoke" were drawn from the central point to the fishheadalong the bisector of the sector, then the result of this computationcan be thought of as the length of the spoke.

The importance of choosing a fishhead's central point correctly isillustrated by the following scenario. Suppose two fishheads have theshape of an upper semicircle of unit radius. Since they are identical,their descriptions in terms of spoke lengths should be identical aswell. Suppose, however, that one fishhead's central point was chosen atthe bottom left, near the left tip of the fishhead, and the otherfishhead's central point was chosen high on the fishhead's axis ofsymmetry. This would result in great differences in length betweencorresponding spokes of the two fishheads.

It is therefore necessary to choose a fishhead's central point in such away that if one fishhead is translated with respect to another in such away that the central points of the two fishheads coincide, then thefishheads will be aligned as closely as possible. Of course, it isnecessary to state precisely what is meant by close alignment. Oneapproach is as follows. Suppose the two curves are defined by(x_(i),y_(i)) i=1 . . . M, and (x_(j) ¹, y_(j) ¹)j=1 . . . N. Define aD₁ distance by ##EQU3## This distance is minimized when the centroids ofeach set of vertices coincide, and if we normalize the distance bydividing by NM, the minimized distance equals σ_(M),N δ(x)+σ_(M),N δ(y)where δ_(i) (x)=x_(i) -x_(i) ¹ δ_(i) (y)=y_(i) -y_(i) ¹, and whereσ_(M),N denotes variance over all MN values.

Another approach is as follows. Suppose that the curves are described bythe vertex sequences (x_(i),y_(i))i=1 . . . N, and (x_(i) ¹,y_(i) ¹)i=1. . . N, that is, the two curves have the same number of vertices.Suppose also that in each curve, adjacent pairs of points are equallyspaced in terms of arc length. Then define the distance between thecurves as ##EQU4## It is easily shown that this distance is minimizedwhen the curves are translated with respect to each other in such a waythat the centroids of each set of vertices coincide. Also, if thedistance is normalized by dividing N, it can be shown that thisminimized distance equals σ_(N) (x)=σ_(N) δ(y), with δ_(i) (x) and δ_(i)(y) defined as before, and wherea σ_(N) denotes the variance over all Nvalues. The assumption that adjacent pairs of points are equally spacedis only approximately true with the fishheads, and the assumption thattwo curves have the same number of points is, in general, not true atall. Nevertheless, the fact that both of these types of distances areminimized when the centroids of the sets of vertices coincide suggeststhat two fishheads should be considered optimally aligned when thecentroid of the vertices of one fishhead coincides with the centroid ofthe vertices of the other. It follows that the central point of afishhead should be either the centroid of the vertices or a point at afixed displacement from the centroid.

For the bottom fishheads, a point 8 units above the centroid was used.For top fishheads, a point 7.5 units to the right of the centroid wasused. (Here, a unit equals 1/300th of an inch.) The shifting ensuredthat the central point always lay inside the fishhead and reduced thenumber of fishheads in which cropping of the curve was needed in orderto make r(θ) single-valued.

If there were values of θ in the sector with no corresponding points inthe fishhead, then instead of dividing by the width of the sector, thecomputer program divided by the measure (size) of the part of the sectorfor which there were points in the fishhead. If no points in thefishhead corresponded to any of the values of θ in the sector, then nospoke was "drawn" for that sector; i.e., no spoke length was computed.If the fishhead "doubled back" in the sector, and consequently therewere values of theta in the sector for which there was more than onepoint in the fishhead, then instead of integrating ρ² over the sector,the computer program integrated ρ_(max) ², where ρ_(max) θ is themaximum of ρ taken over all the points in the fishhead at angle θ. Therationale for using the maximum was that a clamp fitting around theoutside of the fishhead presumably would have rested on the part of thefishhead farthest from the centroid.

The reason the square root of the average ρ² was used, rather thansimply taking the average of ρ, is that before the re-parameterization,the fishheads were all represented as sequences of vertices, which isequivalent to representing them as chains of line segments. And whereasit is computationally expensive to integrate r along a line segmentanalytically, the integral of ρ² (θ)dθ along a line segment from (x1,y1)to (x2,y2) can be shown to equal the absolute value of the cross productof (x1,y1) and (x2,y2).

Actually, the integral of ρθ can be computed analytically as follows. Ifa line is drawn from the origin perpendicular to the segment(x1,y1)-(x2,y2), then the integral in question is ##EQU5## where D isthe distance (along the perpendicular line) of the segment from theorigin, and θ₋₋ i is the angle that the vector (xi,yi) makes with theperpendicular line. The indefinite integral of sec θ is In|sec θ+tan θ|.Everything besides the log can be computed from x1, x2, y1, y2 usingarithmetic operations and three square roots.

The new parameterization in effect standardized the fishheads, becausethe same set of sectors were used for every fishhead, and thisstandardization facilitated computation of clamp shapes. Like there-parameterized fishheads, a clamp was described (in fact, defined) byspecifying its distance from a reference point in each of the sectors.Then, a clamp was said to fit an upper fishhead if all of the followingconditions were satisfied:

a) None of the spokes of the fishhead were more than 0.197 millimeterslonger than the corresponding spoke of the clamp (i.e., spoke of theclamp in the same sector).

b) There was no sector in which the fishhead spoke was more than 0.039millimeters shorter than the clamp spoke. (The fishhead spoke wasallowed to be slightly shorter because the bone was slightlycompressible). In sectors in which either the clamp or the fishhead hadno spoke, this condition was not applicable.

c) In at least four of the sectors which were at least partially in theupper half-plane, the fishhead spoke was no more than 0.130 millimeterslonger than the clamp spoke.

The conditions to be satisfied in order for a clamp to fit a bottomfishhead were the same, except that in condition (c) one looked at thesectors which were at least partially in the lower half-plane.

Partition the Specimen Shapes into Clusters and Compute a Clamp Shape toFit Each Cluster

A computer program was then written that took all the fishheads in agiven subset and partitioned them into clusters in such a way that allthe fishheads in a cluster could be fitted by a single clamp. Thealgorithm used was similar to an agglomerative clustering algorithm,except that where the latter tries to form clusters which are as"tightly packed" as possible, the algorithm used here did not attempt tomake a cluster any "tighter" than necessary to fit all the fishheads init with a single clamp. The program then outputted the descriptions ofthe clamp shape that fit each cluster. These clamp shapes and curves areshown in FIGS. 3 through 8, and Charts 1 through 6, herein.

In this way, a single clamp shape was computed to fit the top of everyC1 specimen (the C1 Top M Curve), and a pair of clamp shapes wascomputed such that the top of every specimen of C2 through C7 was fittedby one of the two shapes (the C2-7 Top A M Curve and the C2-7 Top B MCurve). (Although it was not intended to fit clamps to the top of C7laminae, it was found that including the C7 top fishheads in the subsetpartitioned by the clustering algorithm did not increase the number ofclamps necessary.) For the bottom fishheads, one clamp shape wascomputed that fit all C2 specimens (the C2 Bottom M Curve), one clampshape was computed that fit all specimens of C3 through C5 (the C3-5Bottom M Curve), and one clamp shape was computed that fit all specimensof C6 and C7 (the C6-7 Bottom M Curve). A second program verified thateach clamp actually fit every fishhead that the first program claimedthe clamp fit.

Smoothing the Clamp Shapes

Contrary to intuition, some of the computed clamp shapes had sharpinward bends which were apparently caused by the existence of a fewfishheads with very marked inward bends in the same position. It wasfound that these inward bends could be smoothed without causing theclamp not to fit any of the fishheads it had fit previously. Thissmoothing was done by computer using Bezier curves to form the plots ofthe clamp shapes. These smoothed clamp shapes are shown in FIGS. 13through 18, herein.

As explained above, each clamp shape was defined by its spokes, i.e., byits distance from a reference point at each of a sequence of anglesincreasing by increments of six degrees. This, in effect, provided asequence of vertices in the clamp shape, and the shape could be depictedby drawing the polygonal line connecting the vertices. Instead of usingthis jagged depiction of the shape, an additional program was used tointerpolate a twice continuously differentiable curve between thevertices. This curve passed through all vertices, and its radialderivative agrees with the "derivative" of the polygonal line at thevertices. If the clamp shape is given by the sequence of spokesr(θ_(j)),i=1 to n, where θ_(i+1) =θ_(i) +6°, then the "derivative" atthe ith vertex equals ##EQU6##

Also, the curve was computed in such a way that its radial derivativehad no zero crossing unless necessary to match the positions andderivatives of the vertices.

Further Refinements

Further new improvements were made to the prior art Halifax clamp by thepresent invention, these improvements concerning the interface betweenthe halves of the clamps. This interface is a source of instability inthe prior art clamp and can cause the prior art clamp to become looseand dysfunctional. In the prior art clamp, the screw 3 passes through agliding or sliding hole (which is wider that the outer diameter of screw3) in the upper C-shaped part 1. The screw 3 attaches to the lowerC-shaped part 2 by a threaded hole in the lower part 2. Therefore, inthe prior art, no matter how firmly the screw 3 is held by the threadedlower part 2, the upper (gliding) part 1 remains free to rotate aboutthe screw 3.

The present invention minimizes this rotational instability by addinggrooves 5 radiating from the hole in the footplate of both the upper andthe lower part. By tightly approximating the pattern of the radialgrooves in the opposing footplates of the upper and lower parts, thepresent invention minimizes this rotational instability when theassembled device is screwed together. When the upper and lower parts arescrewed close together, the two matching patterns of radial grooves inthe upper and lower parts mesh together, preventing the upper and lowerparts from rotating in relation to each other. As an alternative toradial grooves, sand-blasted or shot-peened surfaces on the matingsurfaces of the opposing footplates of the upper and lower parts may beused for the same purpose.

Furthermore, the present invention adds a sleeve 4 where necessary toslip over the screw 3 between the upper and lower parts 1 and 2. Thissleeve 4 takes up any necessary gap between the upper and lower parts tofurther insure a good fit. The end of the sleeve 4 also has a matchingradial groove pattern 5, or sand blasted or shot-peened mating surface,as described above, to insure rotational stability of the assembleddevice. The sleeve may be used if necessary to match the combined heightof the interlaminar clamps to the anatomic size of the paired laminae,thereby reducing the inventory of clamps required.

Examples of Equivalents

The embodiments illustrated and discussed in this specification areintended only to teach those skilled in the art the best way known bythe inventor to make and use the invention. Nothing in the specificationshould be considered as limiting the scope of the present invention.Changes could be made by those skilled in the art to produce equivalentdevices and methods without departing from the present invention. Thepresent invention should only be limited by the following claims andtheir legal equivalents.

For example, a variety of other techniques could be used for measuringand digitizing the specimens. Also, a variety of other mathematics andalgorithms could be used for parameterizing, extracting parts,partitioning into clusters, computing clamp shapes to fit the clusters,and for defining fit. Also, sharp inward bends may be smoothed otherwisethan by a computer algorithm, for example, they may be smoothed by handor graphically. Also, the same Moskovich Method can be applied to all ofthe laminae of the back to make Moskovich clamps for all the vertebrae.Also, the same method can be applied to any surgical implant or medicalprosthesis and the body part to which the device must be attached orplaced in contact with, whether bone or soft tissue. Basically, thiswould require that the first step of collecting specimens involve thecollection of specimens of the contacted body part in question, ratherthan just of vertebrae as discussed hereinabove. Furthermore, certainsteps that are described in this specification as being done bycomputer, may also be done otherwise, for example, manually orgraphically.

                  CHART 1                                                         ______________________________________                                        C1 Top                                                                                X     Y                                                               ______________________________________                                                -3.191                                                                              -0.335                                                                  -3.417                                                                              -0.726                                                                  -3.624                                                                              -1.178                                                                  -3.813                                                                              -1.698                                                                  -3.943                                                                              -2.276                                                                  -3.978                                                                              -2.890                                                                  -3.510                                                                              -3.160                                                                  -2.487                                                                              -2.762                                                                  -1.798                                                                              -2.475                                                                  0.391 -1.203                                                                  0.994 -2.233                                                                  1.678 -2.906                                                                  1.973 -2.715                                                                  2.493 -2.769                                                                  2.477 -2.230                                                                  2.426 1.763                                                                   2.361 -1.363                                                                  2.297 -1.023                                                                  2.278 -0.740                                                                  2.214 -0.471                                                                  2.219 -0.233                                                                  2.144 0.000                                                                   2.099 0.221                                                                   2.042 0.434                                                                   1.996 0.649                                                                   1.903 0.847                                                                   1.760 1.016                                                                   1.451 1.054                                                                   1.178 1.060                                                                   1.034 1.149                                                                   0.905 1.245                                                                   0.834 1.445                                                                   0.690 1.549                                                                   0.536 1.651                                                                   0.377 1.773                                                                   0.187 1.777                                                                   0.000 1.788                                                                   -0.181                                                                              1.721                                                                   -0.371                                                                              1.747                                                                   -0.587                                                                              1.805                                                                   -0.797                                                                              1.790                                                                   -0.999                                                                              1.731                                                                   -1.208                                                                              1.663                                                                   -1.465                                                                              1.627                                                                   -1.747                                                                              1.573                                                                   -2.027                                                                              1.473                                                                   -2.333                                                                              1.347                                                                   -2.500                                                                              1.113                                                                   -2.582                                                                              0.839                                                                   -2.669                                                                              0.567                                                                   -2.751                                                                              0.289                                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  CHART 2                                                         ______________________________________                                        C2 Bottom                                                                             X     Y                                                               ______________________________________                                                -2.593                                                                              -0.273                                                                  -2.337                                                                              -0.497                                                                  -2.064                                                                              -0.671                                                                  -1.894                                                                              -0.843                                                                  -1.832                                                                              -1.057                                                                  -1.750                                                                              -1.271                                                                  -1.640                                                                              -1.477                                                                  -1.463                                                                              -1.625                                                                  -1.322                                                                              -1.820                                                                  -1.143                                                                              -1.981                                                                  -0.943                                                                              -2.118                                                                  -0.733                                                                              -2.256                                                                  -0.495                                                                              -2.330                                                                  -0.249                                                                              -2.372                                                                  0.000 -2.414                                                                  0.265 -2.521                                                                  0.549 -2.581                                                                  0.831 -2.558                                                                  1.075 -2.416                                                                  1.280 -2.217                                                                  1.453 -2.000                                                                  1.726 -1.917                                                                  1.966 -1.770                                                                  2.060 -1.497                                                                  2.131 -1.230                                                                  2.157 -0.961                                                                  2.281 -0.741                                                                  2.350 -0.499                                                                  2.357 -0.248                                                                  2.348 0.000                                                                   2.393 0.252                                                                   2.575 0.547                                                                   2.694 0.875                                                                   2.874 1.280                                                                   3.013 1.740                                                                   3.031 2.202                                                                   2.312 2.082                                                                   2.198 2.442                                                                   1.288 1.772                                                                   -1.219                                                                              1.678                                                                   -1.891                                                                              2.101                                                                   -2.582                                                                              2.325                                                                   -3.313                                                                              2.407                                                                   -3.281                                                                              1.894                                                                   -3.872                                                                              1.724                                                                   -3.735                                                                              1.214                                                                   -3.389                                                                              0.720                                                                   -3.028                                                                              0.318                                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  CHART 3                                                         ______________________________________                                        C2-7 Top A                                                                            X     Y                                                               ______________________________________                                                -2.928                                                                              -0.308                                                                  -3.032                                                                              -0.644                                                                  -3.118                                                                              -1.013                                                                  -3.310                                                                              -1.474                                                                  -3.481                                                                              -2.010                                                                  -3.646                                                                              -2.649                                                                  -3.510                                                                              -3.160                                                                  -2.487                                                                              -2.762                                                                  -2.343                                                                              -3.224                                                                  -2.357                                                                              -4.082                                                                  -2.310                                                                              -5.189                                                                  -1.901                                                                              -5.851                                                                  -1.056                                                                              -4.970                                                                  0.000 0.000                                                                   0.000 0.000                                                                   0.000 0.000                                                                   0.391 1.203                                                                   0.994 -2.233                                                                  1.678 -2.906                                                                  1.897 -2.611                                                                  2.419 -2.687                                                                  2.399 -2.160                                                                  2.318 -1.684                                                                  2.202 -1.271                                                                  2.057 -0.916                                                                  1.936 -0.629                                                                  1.860 -0.395                                                                  1.777 -0.187                                                                  1.730 0.000                                                                   1.704 0.179                                                                   1.679 0.357                                                                   1.647 0.535                                                                   1.639 0.730                                                                   1.627 0.939                                                                   1.615 1.173                                                                   1.587 1.429                                                                   1.552 1.724                                                                   1.473 2.028                                                                   1.350 2.339                                                                   1.192 2.677                                                                   1.009 3.104                                                                   0.776 3.651                                                                   0.394 3.752                                                                   0.000 3.770                                                                   -0.369                                                                              3.510                                                                   -0.682                                                                              3.211                                                                   -0.888                                                                              2.734                                                                   -1.100                                                                              2.471                                                                   -1.352                                                                              2.343                                                                   -1.590                                                                              2.188                                                                   -1.810                                                                              2.010                                                                   -2.010                                                                              1.810                                                                   -2.188                                                                              1.590                                                                   -2.333                                                                              1.347                                                                   -2.500                                                                              1.113                                                                   -2.582                                                                              0.839                                                                   -2.669                                                                              0.567                                                                   -2.751                                                                              0.289                                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  CHART 4                                                         ______________________________________                                        C2-7 Top B                                                                            X     Y                                                               ______________________________________                                                -3.191                                                                              -0.335                                                                  -3.417                                                                              -0.726                                                                  -3.624                                                                              -1.178                                                                  -3.813                                                                              -1.698                                                                  -3.943                                                                              -2.276                                                                  -3.978                                                                              -2.890                                                                  -3.293                                                                              -2.965                                                                  -3.726                                                                              -4.138                                                                  -3.675                                                                              -5.058                                                                  -3.009                                                                              -5.212                                                                  -2.748                                                                              -6.172                                                                  -2.276                                                                              -7.004                                                                  -1.360                                                                              -6.397                                                                  -0.403                                                                              -3.832                                                                  0.000 0.000                                                                   0.000 0.000                                                                   1.398 -2.421                                                                  1.973 -2.715                                                                  2.493 -2.769                                                                  2.477 -2.230                                                                  2.426 -1.763                                                                  2.361 -1.363                                                                  2.610 -1.162                                                                  3.234 -1.051                                                                  3.132 -0.666                                                                  2.946 -0.310                                                                  2.816 0.000                                                                   2.663 0.280                                                                   2.498 0.531                                                                   2.363 0.768                                                                   2.336 1.040                                                                   2.306 1.331                                                                   2.214 1.609                                                                   2.111 1.900                                                                   1.957 2.174                                                                   1.799 2.476                                                                   1.671 2.894                                                                   1.478 3.319                                                                   1.169 3.598                                                                   0.883 4.154                                                                   0.488 4.644                                                                   0.000 4.541                                                                   -0.435                                                                              4.138                                                                   -0.812                                                                              3.819                                                                   -1.014                                                                              3.121                                                                   -1.246                                                                              2.799                                                                   -1.353                                                                              2.344                                                                   -1.470                                                                              2.023                                                                   -1.673                                                                              1.858                                                                   -1.858                                                                              1.673                                                                   -2.023                                                                              1.470                                                                   -2.165                                                                              1.250                                                                   -2.284                                                                              1.017                                                                   -2.271                                                                              0.738                                                                   -2.495                                                                              0.530                                                                   -2.718                                                                              0.286                                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  CHART 5                                                         ______________________________________                                        C3-5 Bottom                                                                           X     Y                                                               ______________________________________                                                -1.678                                                                              -0.176                                                                  -1.602                                                                              -0.340                                                                  -1.525                                                                              -0.496                                                                  -1.461                                                                              -0.650                                                                  -1.393                                                                              -0.804                                                                  -1.340                                                                              -0.974                                                                  -1.269                                                                              -1.143                                                                  -1.159                                                                              -1.287                                                                  -1.039                                                                              -1.430                                                                  -0.889                                                                              -1.539                                                                  -0.732                                                                              -1.645                                                                  -0.587                                                                              -1.806                                                                  -0.409                                                                              -1.923                                                                  -0.222                                                                              -2.115                                                                  0.000 -2.202                                                                  0.222 -2.111                                                                  0.449 -2.111                                                                  0.676 -2.079                                                                  0.888 -1.994                                                                  1.039 -1.800                                                                  1.176 -1.619                                                                  1.304 -1.448                                                                  1.407 -1.267                                                                  1.483 -1.077                                                                  1.551 -0.895                                                                  1.554 -0.692                                                                  1.564 -0.508                                                                  1.554 -0.330                                                                  1.537 -0.162                                                                  1.542 0.000                                                                   1.509 0.159                                                                   1.470 0.312                                                                   1.498 0.487                                                                   1.584 0.705                                                                   1.642 0.948                                                                   1.662 1.208                                                                   1.584 1.426                                                                   1.596 1.773                                                                   1.423 1.958                                                                   0.585 1.013                                                                   0.589 1.322                                                                   -0.044                                                                              0.416                                                                   -0.053                                                                              0.247                                                                   -0.173                                                                              0.532                                                                   -0.329                                                                              0.738                                                                   -0.736                                                                              1.275                                                                   -0.717                                                                              0.987                                                                   -1.038                                                                              1.153                                                                   -2.142                                                                              1.928                                                                   -2.139                                                                              1.554                                                                   -2.058                                                                              1.188                                                                   -1.996                                                                              0.889                                                                   -1.909                                                                              0.620                                                                   -1.839                                                                              0.391                                                                   -1.796                                                                              0.189                                                           ______________________________________                                    

                  CHART 6                                                         ______________________________________                                        C6-7 Bottom                                                                           X     Y                                                               ______________________________________                                                -2.182                                                                              -0.229                                                                  -2.101                                                                              -0.447                                                                  -2.009                                                                              -0.653                                                                  -1.894                                                                              -0.843                                                                  -1.788                                                                              -1.033                                                                  -1.684                                                                              -1.223                                                                  -1.626                                                                              -1.464                                                                  -1.567                                                                              -1.740                                                                  -1.474                                                                              -2.029                                                                  -1.315                                                                              -2.278                                                                  -1.071                                                                              -2.406                                                                  -0.849                                                                              -2.613                                                                  -0.584                                                                              -2.748                                                                  -0.302                                                                              -2.875                                                                  0.000 -2.844                                                                  0.284 -2.703                                                                  0.539 -2.535                                                                  0.821 -2.526                                                                  1.063 -2.388                                                                  1.249 -2.163                                                                  1.422 -1.957                                                                  1.582 -1.757                                                                  1.659 -1.494                                                                  1.704 -1.238                                                                  1.724 -0.995                                                                  1.727 -0.769                                                                  1.767 -0.574                                                                  1.817 -0.386                                                                  1.962 -0.206                                                                  2.108 0.000                                                                   2.307 0.242                                                                   2.483 0.528                                                                   2.736 0.889                                                                   2.934 1.306                                                                   3.152 1.820                                                                   3.171 2.304                                                                   2.218 1.997                                                                   2.117 2.351                                                                   1.690 2.327                                                                   1.046 1.812                                                                   0.721 1.619                                                                   0.352 1.084                                                                   -0.963                                                                              2.163                                                                   -1.113                                                                              1.928                                                                   -1.356                                                                              1.866                                                                   -2.252                                                                              2.502                                                                   -2.597                                                                              2.338                                                                   -2.993                                                                              2.174                                                                   -2.919                                                                              1.685                                                                   -2.751                                                                              1.225                                                                   -2.613                                                                              0.849                                                                   -2.461                                                                              0.523                                                                   -2.382                                                                              0.250                                                           ______________________________________                                    

I claim:
 1. A method of manufacturing a clamp comprising the steps of:(a) collecting specimen vertebrae, (b) measuring the shape of each specimen, (c) digitizing and storing the measured shape of each specimen, (d) extracting top and bottom parts from each specimen shape, (e) partitioning the top and bottom parts into clusters of similar part shapes, (f) computing a clamp portion shape to fit well each cluster, and (g) manufacturing a set of interlaminar clamp upper portions and lower portions, with one clamp portion with an interior surface in the shape of each of the computed clamp portion shapes.
 2. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the specimen vertebrae further comprise C1 through C7 vertebrae.
 3. A method as defined in claim 1, and further comprising the step of smoothing the clamp portion shapes to eliminate any sharp inward bends.
 4. A method of manufacturing implants and prostheses comprising the steps of:(a) collecting specimens of body parts from a plurality of individuals, (b) measuring the shape and size of each specimen, (c) digitizing and storing the measured shape and size of each specimen, (d) partitioning the measured specimen shapes and sizes into clusters of similar shapes and sizes, (e) computing a surgical implant shape and size or medical prosthesis shape and size to fit well each cluster, and (f) manufacturing a set of implants or prostheses with one member of the set with the shape and size of each of the computed shapes and sizes, said manufacturing being independent of a patient into which the implant or prosthesis is to be implanted.
 5. A method as defined in claim 4, further comprising:(a) smoothing the implant and prostheses shapes to eliminate any irregular portions of the implant and prostheses shapes.
 6. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein:(a) the eliminated irregular portions are sharp inward bends.
 7. A method as defined in claim 5, wherein:(a) the eliminated irregular portions are sharp outward bends. 